Letter filing mechanisms



April 23, 1957 Filed Feb. 9, 1954 M. BONN ETAL LETTER FILING MECHANISMS 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Inventors /'74 779/45 ao/v/v aqm/m/mw/vmfmz/zg April 23, 1957 M. BONN ET AL 2,789,561

LETTER FILING MECHANISMS Filed Feb. 9, 1954 2 Sheets -Sheet 2 United States atent t" t 2,189,561

2,789,561 LETTER FILING MncHANrsMs Mathias Bonn, Bonn, arid Johann Hamtnerschlag, lppendoff/Bonn, Germany, assignors to Firma F. Scennecken, Bonn, Germany Application February 9, 1954, Serial No. 4%,174

Claims priority, application Germany May 20, 1953 4- Claims. (Cl. 12911) This invention relates to an improved mechanism for so-called letter files which are adapted for the filing of letters, papers, documents and the like. The type of file concerned is one comprising bowed members rockable under the influence of a pin operated by a hand lever for closing the file, said lever being pivotally supported by a bracket plate and said bowed members being under the influence of a spring constantly tending to movethem to the open position. In one form, a file of-this type comprises two rigidly mounted filing pins standing vertically on a base plate, the bowed members being rockable towards the pins, to cause their extremities to meet the tops of the pins to close the file, and away from the pins to cause their extremities to open a gap between themselves and the pins when the file is to be opened.

, In another form of the said type the rigidly mounted filing pins are substituted by bowed members, so that the file comprises two sets of bowed members which are rockable towards and away from one another to close and open the file, the closing of the file being effected when the extremities of the opposed bowed or arcuate members meet to form a closed arch. In this form, each set of bowed members is under the influence of its respect'ive spring, but the hand lever and pin arrangement is adapted for operating the sets of bowed members simultaneously so that they either approach one another or recede from one another in the closing and opening of the file.

The pin above referred to is usually mounted rigidly upon the hub part of the hand lever by riveting one end of said pin to said hub part, said pin engaging a cranked axle of the bowed members antifrictionally by the aid of a roller revoluble and axially displaceable on the said pin. In the operation of the file, the pin suifers severe bending stresses as also does the pivot pin of the hand lever. The result is that after periods of use, bending of the said pins occurs and the file fails to close properly.

One object of the present invention is to provide free mounting of the operating pin whereby it is not subjected to severe stresses and therefore is not liable to become bent. A further object is to afilord a double support for the operating pin instead of a single support and thereby also relieve the pivot pin from harmful stresses.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a hand lever with spaced finger-engagement devices, one to be used by the operator for opening and the other for closing the file: Advantageously, these devices may Patented Apr. 23, 1957 Finally, it is an object of the invention to provide hand 7 levers of light construction but of great stifiness and strength and to limit the dimensions of such levers so that they do not at any time project externally of the file.

The foregoing and their objects will appear clearly from a detailed description of examples illustrated in the annexed drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side view, looking in the direction of the arrow in Figure 2, of letter filing mechanism in the closed position, the open position being indicated by broken lines,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front view of the mechanism seen in Figure l, excepting that bowed members seen in the latter figure are omitted from Figure 2,

Figure 3 is similar to Figure 2 but shows the mechanism adjusted for the open position of the file,

Figure 4 is a detail view illustrating a modified construction of the hand lever,

Figure 5 shows a crescent-shaped hand lever in a View which is similar to Figure 2,

Figure 6 is similar to Figure 5 but shows the parts as when adjusted for the opening of the file, and

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 1 but illustrating a tile comprising opposed bowed members.

In Figures 1 to 3 filing rods or pins 2 and 3 are fixedl riveted at 4 and 5 to a base plate 1. Hinge eyes 6 and 7 are bent out from the base plate 1 and serve for the mounting of aligned end parts 10 and 11 of an axle comprising a middle crank arm or cranked part 1-2. From the outer ends of the parts 10 and 11 there extend upwardly arcuate closure members 8 and 9, which are rigidly connected to the axle. The bowed members are influenced by a leaf spring 13 fixed to the base plate 1 and acting upwardly against the crank arm part 12 of the axle, and constant tendency of the spring 13 being to move the members 8 and 9, to the open position indicated by broken lines in Figure 1. An anti-friction roller 15a, mounted so as to be axially displaceable on a loosely arranged pin 14, is engaged with the crank arm 12 in opposition to the leaf spring 13. The pin 13 is guided on the one hand in an enlarged disc-like hub part 15 of a hand lever 16 and on the other hand in a bracket plate 17 which is bent out of the base plate I. The lever portion 15 and the bracket plate 17 are previded with slots 13 and 19 for the reception of the pin 14. The slot 19 in the plate 17 is inclined at about 45 relatively to the surface of the base plate 1, while the slot 18 in the lever portion 15 extends almost paiallel to the crank arm 12 when the parts are in the position seen in Figure 3 and the file is in the open condition. The lever 16 turns about a pivot pin 16a which is riveted to the bracket plate 17. During the closing bp'eration which is effected by turning the lever 16 clockwise from the position seen in Figure 3 to the position seen in Fig ure 2 the slot 18 is moved and intersects the stationary slot 1a. The pin 14 loosely arranged in the two slots 18 and 19 slides in the direction of the base plate during such closing operation under the guiding action of the slots 18, 19. During the said turning of the lever 16 the roller 15a, which is axially displaceable on the pin 14, urgesthe cranked axle part 12 downwards against the resistance of the leaf spring 13 until the extremities of the bowed members 8 and 9 bear firmly on the tops of the filing rods or pins 2 and 3. At the end of the lever operation and as seen in Figure 2, the pin 14 passes into an offset end portion 20 of the slot 19 extending parallel to the crank arm 12 and this produces a'locking action against the effort of the tensioned spring 13. This gives an assurance, more particularly when the letter file is full, that the bowed members 8 and 9 will not, under the influence of the spring or the loading of the file, becomeautomaticallyreleased from the closed position seen in full lines in Figure 1. I

' The lever 16 is so dimensioned that it canbe operated between the bowed members 8 and 9, and does not project beyond the actual mechanism on either side. For better operation the lever 16 is provided at its outer end with a finger grip or handle 21, the gripping surface of which may be knurled, as indicated in Figure l. The end portion of the lever 16 is twisted so that the handle 21 is in a plane disposed at a right angle to the plane containing the surface of the lever part 15. The width of the hand lever maybe made substantially narrower if the free. end thereof is given an annular shape, and the annular surface, in this case, may lie in the same plane as the lever part 15.

- According to Figure 4 the lever part 15 is provided with two divergent arms 22 and 23 which are suitably formed and bent to provide two finger-engagement parts 24 and 25. If pressure is exerted on the part 24, the

open bowed members of the file are brought to the closed position, and are re-opened by pressure on the part 25. This embodiment is particularly suitable with letter files the back portions of which are less than the usual width of 8 cm.

It is possible as shown in Figure 7 so to extend the pin '14 to both sides of the bracket plate and hand lever, that a second pin length and roller 15a can be provided. The filing rods or pins 2, 3 of Figures 1 to 3 are then re- 'placed by a secbnd and opposed pair of bowed members 8', 9 with a corresponding second axle with a crank part 12 and a second leaf spring 13. In the closed condition of this file and as seen in Figure 7, the opposed i-bowedmembers 8, 9 and 8, 9' come together advantageously in the middle of the file and form closed arches.

Whereas in the construction shown in Figure 4 the two 'arms 22 and 23 are upwardly directed at an acute angle ,in relation to one another, the crescent shaped lever construction according to Figures and 6 affords advantageous leveragepossibilities for operating the letter filing mechanism with relatively slight expenditure of energy. In Figures 5 and 6 a bracket plate 17' is stamped and bent up out of the base plate 1. The crescent shaped lever 16' is pivotally mounted on the plate 17' by means of the rivet 116a. the lever 16' is provided with a slot 18'. The pin 14, which bears upon the cranked axle portion 12, advantageously with interposition of a roller 115a which is axially displaceable on the pin, is guided in the two slots 18' and 19' as in the construction first described. The crescent shape of the lever 16' affords a good lever action in bringing about the closing or opening of the ..It will be seen from Figure 5 that a button or key 25' onone horn portion 22" of the crescent assumes a substantially horizontal position when the curved members reach the closed position, so that the force required at the end of the closing operation to cause the pin 14' to enter'the deviating or offset portion 2i) of the slot 19' to effect a locking action as hereinbefore described is applied easily and yet reliably. On the other hand the button or key 25' is still a considerable. distance away from the base plate 1 and with such clearance it is pos- The plate 17' has a slot 19', while .sible to effect the saidlocking operation, .withoutfear of the button or key 25' being disturbed by contact with the base plate.

If it is desired to change over the lever 16' from the position in Figure 5, in which the file is closed, to the position in Figure 6 in which the file is open, a light pressure on a button or key 24' provided on the horn 23' of the crescent suffices to produce automatically, under the action of the spring 13, the position of the lever 16' according to Figure 6. The brief pressure is sufiicient to remove the pin 14 from the offset part 20 and thereafter the spring 13 is free to snap the file parts into the open position. The crescent lever may be made of sheet metal and thehorn part 22' may be stiffened by a bead formation '27 whilst the horn part 23' may be similarly stiffened by a bead formation 26.

From the foregoing it will be seen that in the several embodiments the operating pin 14, 14 or 14" is supported partly by the hub part 15 of the operating lever and partly by the bracket plate 1'7 or 17', as the case may be. During a closing operation of the file, when the operating pin is under maximum stress, the pin reacts mainly against an edge of the slot 19 or 19 in the bracket plate 17 or 17' forming part of the base plate 1, so that the pivot 16a or 116:: of the lever 16 or 16'. respectively is relieved of stress to which it would otherwise be subjected. There is thus no tendency to bend the operating pin itself and little tendency to bend or shear the pivot pin 16:: or 116a because the slot 18 or 18' of the lever is mainly effective for moving the operating pin down the slot 19 or 19', respectively. An advantageous result is thus produced by the aid of very few and simple components which are easy to produce and assemble. In the case of the opposed bowed members illustrated in Figure 7, the loading of the operating pin is balanced on the two sides of the lever and bracket plate so that the pin is subjected to uniform stresses in its two end portions. The result of this is further to relieve the pivot pin 16:! from stress.

Finally, the operating buttons or keys 24 and 25' in Figures 5 and 6 may be treated as by colouring or marking them differently from one another, so that an operator may readily distinguish one from the other. The fact that the planes containing the buttons or keys 24 and 25 are at an obtuse angle to one another makes the identification and operation of such buttons or keys very easy.

We claim:

1. A letter file mechanism comprising in combination a base plate, a closure member pivotally mounted on said base plate, an upwardly extending filing member engageable by said closure member, 'a crank arm connected to said closure member, spring means for biasing said crank arm in one direction, and means for controlling the movement of said crank arm, said controlling means comprising a bracket secured to said base plate,

.and a lever arm pivotally mounted on said bracket, said bracket providing a first straight slot having one end adjacent said crank arm and extending obliquely upwardly from a point remote from the pivotal mounting of said lever arm andfrom said base plate to a point relatively closer to the pivotal mounting of said lever am, said lever arm providing a second straight slot having portions registering in different positions of said lever arm with portions of said first slot, and pin means slidably mounted within and relative to both said slots and arranged to extend transversely through said slots and over said crank arm, said lever arm when rotated in one direction forcing said pin means with an edge of said second slot in one direction along said first slot to rotate said crank arm and said closure member against the biasing action of said spring means into locking position with said filing member, and when. rotated in the other direction said lever releasing said spring means to force said pin means with the other edge of said second arrang wn U 6 by a crescent shaped element and a finger engaging surface is provided on each end of said crescent shaped element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,513,325 Kramer Oct. 28, 1924 FOREIGN PATENTS 142,008 Germany July 20, 1903 427,656 Germany Apr. 10, 1926 981,365 France Jan. 10, 1951 

